Buying double glazing, the best and worse ways to pay for it.

This is an easy subject, because out of all the ways there are to fund any purchase, the best and worst ways are extreme opposites of each other:

The best way to pay for double glazing:

If you have sufficient spare money put aside, draw on this and pay for it outright, it is as simple as that. I say 'spare' because it is prudent to at least keep some ready money in reserve for emergencies and for any unexpected expense that could crop up.

The worst way to pay for double glazing:

The very worst way to pay for double glazing is on any form of finance, and most particularly a finance deal offered by the replacement window selling company. You can only appreciate the true cost of normal straight finance if you multiply how much you have to pay a month by the amount of months the loan is over, to get the total amount to repay. Then if you compare that total, with the straight  price, you could be horrified to discover that a loan over, say, 5 to 10 years could easily double the real the price of your purchase, or worse! The commission a salesperson could earn might be increased by 10 % - 20%, by selling on finance, particularly if the finance was with the 'protected payment plan'. That is your money!

Middle Ground:

If you have not got all of the money put aside, or if maybe if you are not able or you do not feel comfortable stretching yourself to pay for it all in one go, then consider asking a close relative to help you out with a loan of £X amount. Offer regular payments over an agreeable period that you know you can honour, and offer to repay an extra amount over the top of that borrowed so that they will not lose out on their building society interest. That's fair all round! I also suggest a very simple letter of agreement.

On the other hand...

As for my comment about 'any form of finance', I fully understand that there are certain circumstances where getting finance to cover some, or all of the expense, is the only viable option. If this applies to you, than I suggest you visit Tesco or Sainsburys web sites and 'checkout' (get it?) their very competitive deals, or pick up a leaflet or ask at your own building society.

Getting a discount for paying "CASH" for your double glazing?

To a reputable concern paying by either cash of cheque should make no difference to the price. If you are asked for, or you offer to pay "Cash" in order to evade taxes then be warned, this is a very serious offence. We hear about the 'black economy', and anyone buying goods in this way is doing business with a merchant who will unlikely give you good service and a proper guarantee.

"No Income Tax - No VAT. - No Comebacks - No Guarantee - We'll Cut Prices At A Stroke!"

Click on the thumbnail picture to find out how to avoid a potential rip-off. Paying Cash for Double Glazing

Deposit guarantee.

If you are concerned at all with paying a deposit and maybe losing it if the firm goes bust before they have done any work for you, I suggest you go to someone else who only asks for a small deposit, or no deposit at all. If you do part with a deposit then see if you can pay this on a credit card, as the card company will have a level of responsibility should it all go wrong.

Buying double glazing, final point:

Now I did say any form of finance and meant just that, because it is you that will be paying back, somewhere in the price, the costs the supplier will incur of providing the "0% APR" or the "buy now - pay nothing for xxx months". Like all forms of advertising and special offers these offers are all a ploy to lure you in and part you from your money. In my opinion the same applies to the purchase of a carpet, car or sofa. Go to someone not offering the special finance packages, and you will get a much better deal.

My scam exam test tells you far more about any individual estimate than my buyer beware pages ever can because I have had to generalise very much on my website. Once you have put your estimate through the free test and had your results, you can then get an individual full five page written report for a modest cost, and this should complete ALL the information you will need to be really clued-in before you make any really important decisions.

Further subject reading:

BUYER BEWARE MAIN PAGE

Tackling Bogus Trading

Can I believe the double glazing adverts?

Double glazing salespeople - can I believe them?

PVC-U double glazing Quality and strength - the ONE most important thing to look for